It was a long day running around Berkeley, but getting back early evening got me home in time for the two sports games on TV: the Sharks game and the Cal-Stanfurd basketball game, and to study for yet another midterm. Let's take a look at the lowlights.

The Sharks were rolling, building a 3-0 lead in the first. McCauley seemed like a solid character but will never be a Nolan. That was one of the strongest periods they've played this year. They were dominating and connecting. Then it all snowballed downhill from there. The next period was a disaster. Phoenix scored 4 unanswered goals. The third period was simply a game of keep away, with the teams trading goals for the eventual 6-4 final. Even with the great first period, this is easily their worst game this season.

Halfway through the Sharks game, Cal and Stanfurd tipped off at Maples. Cal won the first game at Haas 72-59. It was clear with the regular season finale that this would be different. Coming into the game, Stanfurd was riding high with only a loss to Arizona as a blemish in its record in the past few weeks. Cal was struggling, with losses to Arizona and UCLA and close wins with the Washington schools, USC, and Arizona State. As a result, it was no surprise how the game would start. Stanfurd jumped out to an 18-point lead. But collective foul trouble put Cal on the free-throw line and in the game. By the middle of the second half, they brought the lead back down to 4. The Cardinal's stifling defense, a precise man-to-man instead of a zone, contained the big three of Cal and kept the game out of reach for the Bears. Notably, Amit Tamir did awful, scoring 2 points, never finding a rhythm, and playing lackluster defense and ball control. The Cardinal won 72-60. Assuming they win their first round games next week in the Pac-10 tournament, they will meet again on Friday.

It was a very bad day for the Bears on this Cardinal day. The Bears lost every meeting against Stanfurd today. Women's basketball lost 60-35 in the second round of the Pac-10 tournament. Baseball lost the second of 3 games. Men's swimming earned second place at the Pac-10 championships. In first place was the Cardinal.

Why was it that the Cal band played on and on during the basketball game? Sure, they have a right, but it is on Stanfurd's home court. Shouldn't they get to go first? For example, the halftime buzzer sounded, and very quickly, the sounds of "Fight for California" played the Bears off the court. Hmm, that Stanfurd tree changes more times than Michael Jackson's face, am I right? Then there's this 6th Man the Cardinal posess on their home court. First of all, they clumsily did a Go...Bears! chant with Go...Stanfurd! Not only was it pretty slow, they did it for an awfully long time. Then, when they won, they rushed the court. Why? Yes, Cal's good but this isn't court-worthy. Besides people can get hurt and rushing the court, or even a football field, shouldn't occur whatsoever unless it is the culmination of dedication and/or frustration. A general example would be winning some kind of championship. A Cal example would be winning the Big Game after so many years of not doing so, though the actions of those people rushing the field that day were pretty bad too. Finally, there's the composition of this 6th Man group. I'm sorry to say, most of them were white, save for the stray Indian or African-American person. If it was a public school, the Cal affirmative action folks would be having a field day.